


Soul Animals

by SociallyAwkwardFox (Maze_Runner_Fae)



Series: The Fox Hunts The Wolf [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, F/M, Fluff, High School Drama, Hurt!Stiles, Lacrosse, M/M, Oblivious Derek, Oblivious Stiles, Sick Stiles, soul animals, soul mates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-22
Updated: 2015-08-22
Packaged: 2018-04-16 13:29:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4627017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maze_Runner_Fae/pseuds/SociallyAwkwardFox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On every person's thirteenth birthday, they receive a Soul Animal. A physical representation of who they are. How one person's Soul Animal interacts with another's is an important thing to take into consideration.<br/>The first time Stiles meets Derek Hale the two hate each other and so do their Soul Animals. Things get a little complicated when their Soul Animals keep pulling them together. It doesn't help that everyone else seems to think their pain is adorable. High school sucks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Soul Animals

**Author's Note:**

  * For [onehaleofanadventure](https://archiveofourown.org/users/onehaleofanadventure/gifts).



> I was going to wait to put this up, but it's someone's birthday so I thought I'd be nice and give her this. Happy birthday, old person! Hope it's everything you wanted it to be.

On every person’s thirteenth birthday, they have two different parties. One party is strictly family and is just the family sitting around waiting for the person’s Soul Animal to appear. The second party is a celebration with family and friends on the person receiving their Soul Animal. Some people make their secondary party a lavish affair like the Martins and the Whittemores, while others make it a simple affair like the Hales.

Stiles Stilinski spent his first party sitting across from a headstone with his father right next to him in a pair of civilian clothes instead of his normal khaki uniform. When his Soul Animal finally appeared, it was curled up on the tightly packed earth staring at him with honey colored eyes. His secondary party was nothing more than his father, surrogate mother, and might as well be brother having dinner and a game night like they try to always do at least once a month. As soon as Stiles sat down at the table Melissa had already set, Scott’s blue Irish wolfhound pup curled around the bright red fox next to Stiles’s chair. The two animals spent the whole night playing together under the watchful eye of the Sheriff’s black backed jackal and Melissa’s sika fawn exactly like the parents watched their two boys.

Life for Stiles continued on as normal after his thirteenth birthday other than the red fox that liked to sit on his shoulders with its tail wrapped around his neck like a scarf. He and Scott continued to get into trouble in school and around town. Lydia Martin and her beautiful but terrifying snowy owl continued to ignore his existence at every turn. His dad spent long hours at work doing important, sheriffy things to ensure the safety of the citizens of Beacon Hills.

Middle school faded into high school where Stiles kept up his virtual nonexistence to students other than Scott until his sophomore year. After attending a lacrosse summer camp to curb his boredom during the month Scott was in Mexico visiting family, Stiles discovered his agility and ability to think quickly on his feet made him a formidable attacker. With this new found skill in mind, Stiles decided he would try out for the beloved school lacrosse team. Naturally, Scott decided to try out for the team alongside his best friend despite the fact his asthma made it difficult to complete even one lap around the field. It was during the first day of lacrosse try outs that Stiles met the illusive Derek Hale.

Just like every other member of the Hale family, Derek was either loved or envied by every student in Beacon Hills High. However, unlike the rest of his siblings, Derek was known for being more of an introvert. He rarely made an appearance at any of the high school parties, he didn’t bask in the doe eyes all the girls-and several gay guys-sent his way, and he never sat in the lunchroom like the rest of the lacrosse team did. His group of friends only consisted of three people: Vernon Boyd, Erica Reyes, and Isaac Lahey. His typical routine didn’t include anything other than going to school, playing lacrosse, and then going home.

Despite this fact, Stiles knew exactly who Derek Hale was the minute he laid eyes on him. He’d heard plenty of junior girls that had classes with him gush about his jet black hair and totally lickable facial hair. He’d heard many a sonnet dedicated to the various shades of green and blue and grey that made up his amazing eyes. He’d heard tale of the muscles that almost caused the sleeves of his shirt to rip open when he moved his arms and the six-pack abs visible through his shirt. The thing he heard about the most was the huge black wolf with the two half-rings of silver about the neck and just behind his front legs and the patch of silver on its chest. It was certainly an intimidating sight and Stiles had no problem believing it caused many an opponent to nearly wet themselves in fear, but he felt no such fear even when it rudely growled at his lovely fox.

Stiles didn’t have much time to dwell on the mysterious Derek Hale because Finstock immediately stomped on the field and demanded they start by running laps. The man continued to keep them busy even during the sparsely given water breaks at which point he would lecture about the importance of team work and winning. It wasn’t until the end of practice when Finstock decided to stop focusing on fitness and move on to actually playing lacrosse, that Stiles got the chance to get a look at Derek Hale again.

Danny was in his normal position in front of the goal with Derek playing defender and the rest of the group lined up at midfield. Several of the new players trying out went before Stiles, all of them getting clobbered by Derek quickly. The vets behind Stiles were all laughing and mocking the new recruits as they limped to the end of the line. Stiles ignored the jeering behind him as he picked up the white ball Finstock had tossed on the ground.

At the blow of Finstock’s whistle, Stiles took off with three-quarters of his full speed and kept his eyes glued on Derek. He waited carefully for the moment Derek decided his move, then easily spun around the defender and sent the ball sailing into the back of the net. When he turned around to head back to the line, he was met with a pair of hazel eyes glaring at him. A cocky smile slipped onto Stiles’s face as he strolled past Derek with his fox following behind through the legs of Derek’s angry wolf.

A floodgate seemed to burst open for Stiles after that first day of lacrosse practice. Somehow the entire school heard about him schooling Derek Hale on the lacrosse field and felt the need to whisper about it while they stared. In between his second and third period classes, a huge white wolf nudged playfully at the prancing fox around his legs. The wolf was followed by a beautiful black haired girl that obviously had to Derek Hale’s older sister Laura Hale. The girl gave him a friendly smile and congratulated him for having the guts to make her annoying brother look like an idiot. Stiles instantly decided he liked her.

His day got even stranger when Lydia Martin actually talked to him during their third period math class, although it wasn’t what one would consider the most pleasant of talks. In gym a voluptuous blonde smacked him on the ass and winked at him while her bright peacock trotted along next to her. The brunette following behind her rolled her eyes, then gave Stiles a once over at the exact same time her grey wolf did. The two girls finally stopped next to a giant bear of a boy who just so happened to have a little brown bear cub sitting peacefully at his side. Neither of them paid any mind to Stiles whatsoever making it seem like everything was right in the world once again.

Obviously that had to mean that the greatest shock of the day would happen after Stiles fell into a false sense of security. In between fifth and sixth period, Stiles decided to accompany Scott in his attempt to catch a glimpse at the newest girl to grace the halls of Beacon Hills instead of taking his normal route. Scott was busy staring at the kind girl with a frightening peregrine falcon perched on her left shoulder, when his fox leapt off his shoulders and darted down the hall. Stiles rolled his eyes and didn’t even bother to try to say goodbye to Scott since he was busy staring at Allison before he took off after his fox.

It didn’t surprise him at all to find his fox weaving through the legs of a black wolf like it wasn’t trying to take a chuck out of her with its sharp teeth. What did surprise Stiles was the angry Derek Hale looking seconds away from blowing a gasket.  His sister was too busy laughing uproariously at his side to bother trying to help the situation from becoming any worse. Stiles took his chance to whistle at his fox when Derek turned his angry stare from the scene below him to his sister. His fox huffed in aggravation at having her fun disrupted, but quickly scaled Stiles’s body all the same. As soon as she was safely seated on his shoulders, Stiles took off to his next class before either of the Hales could notice him.

Things didn’t come to a head until three weeks later when the weather in Beacon Hills could only be described as absolutely horrendous. The rain was coming down in heavy sheets that pounded mercilessly against the roof of the school. It took every ounce of will power and persistence from his father to get Stiles and his fox out of bed that day. Suffice to say, Stiles was more than a little bit excited to finally make it to lunch. He was just getting out of line when his fox took off in the complete opposite direction of the table he normally sat at. Stiles let out a groan and told Scott he would catch up with him later before he went after his streaking fox.

* * *

 

“I can’t believe you. Traitor!” Stiles glared at the fox curled up on the back of a familiar black wolf lying down next to its owner’s chair. It was times like these Stiles wished his fox was a little less mischievous and didn’t have a mind of her own. Stiles resigned himself to the fact he was going to have to sit next to someone that despised his very existence instead of spending his lunch planning out his bi-monthly videogame weekend with Scott. He plopped his tray down in front of the empty seat next to Derek, then fell ungracefully into the seat.

“Isn’t this a surprise?”

“You look nice today, Erica. So do you, Rowan.”

Erica’s peacock preened at the compliment and nudged at Stiles’s hand until he finally ran a hand over the sleek feathers atop the peacock’s head. “Aren’t you a regular charmer?”

“I do my best.”

“It’s certainly working. I guess I’ll introduce you to everyone. This stunning hunk of man meat sitting next to me is Boyd and the adorable bear beneath the table is Rocky. Next to him is Laura and her lovely wolf Mika. Across from her is her sister Cora and Jinx. Then there’s Isaac and Ringo.”

“Ringo? Seriously?”

“Ringo the dingo. He’s very proud of that one.”

“Who wouldn’t be?”

The table fell into silence while everyone focused on eating their food except for Derek who was staring down at the two animals next to him. “You never introduced your fox.”

“Her name’s Lissie.”

“Like the singer?”

“Yes, but that’s not who she’s named after.” Stiles chuckled and bent down to run a gentle hand over Lissie’s head. “I thought Lissie sounded better than Lis.”

“Why Lis?”

“It means fox in Polish. It was that or Vulpecula.”

“You named your fox, fox?”

“Yes. What about your wolf? Please tell me it’s not something generic like Tim.”

“Zeke.”

“That’s certainly better than Tim. Is it short for Ezekiel?”

“No.”

Stiles threw his hands up in surrender at the harsh word Derek sent his way. “Sorry. Won’t be making that mistake again. Does Zeke normally let other animals curl up on his back like that?”

“No.”

“I’ve always said Lissie’s a special one.”

“She’s a nuisance.”

“That-” Stiles pointed his fork preciously balancing a scoop of corn on its plastic tines at Derek causing a look of disgust to appear on his face. “is one hundred percent your opinion.”

“She’s biting Zeke’s ears.”

Stiles looked down to see Lissie gnawing lightly on a perked black ear like it was the most fun she’d had all day. At this point Stiles would have expected Zeke to start trying to buck Lissie off or turning his neck so he could clamp his jaws down around Lissie’s neck. Instead, the wolf looked to be sleeping peacefully or at least resting his eyes without a care in the world for the fox nibbling on his ear. If anything the wolf seemed to be enjoying the treatment, not that Stiles could understand what would be enjoyable about him getting his ears chewed on.

“It doesn’t look like Zeke has a problem with it.”

“Only because he’s used to be treated that way.”

“Poor thing.” Stiles scratched behind the ear Lissie wasn’t nibbling on leading to a pleased rumble rolling through the wolf’s body. Lissie yipped in response to the rumble and bit firmly on the ear between her tiny, sharp teeth. Zeke’s head immediately snapping up bumping into Lissie’s snout and causing her to fall gracelessly to the floor. Little black paws kicked out at the much larger wolf belly doing absolutely nothing to the amused looking wolf. A giant paw pressed against the white fur on Lissie’s underbelly so she was trapped against the floor.

Lissie tried to half-heartedly push the paw off of her chest, but gave up quickly in favor of pawing at Zeke’s muzzle playfully. The wolf occasionally clamped one of her paws in between his teeth for a few seconds before letting it go so she could go back to using both of her front paws. When Zeke managed to catch both of Lissie’s paws in his mouth at the same time, Lissie popped up to lick Zeke’s nose. Zeke immediately pulled back from the fox causing her to let out a barking laugh at his confusion. The wolf cocked his head in response and stayed like that until Lissie sat up so she could nose at the side of his face.

“That’s so cute.” Stiles whipped out his phone so he could take a picture of his fox now sleeping comfortably between the front legs of Derek’s wolf with his head resting on her body while he slept. “She does the same thing with Scott’s puppy and my dad’s jackal. I swear she’d spend all her time cuddling if she could.”

“Foxes and wolves don’t get along.”

“Someone forgot to tell them that.”

Derek let out a growl of frustration, but didn’t want to wake Zeke up from a well-deserved nap. “I still don’t like you.”

“Fair enough.”

* * *

 

“Dude, where were you during lunch? One second you were there and then you just disappeared.”

“Lissie decided she wanted to play with Zeke during lunch.”

Scott stopped midway through putting on his shirt so he could wrinkle his nose up in confusion. “Who is Zeke?”

“Derek’s wolf. I have the cutest picture of them sleeping together. It’s so adorable.”

“Cuter than that one you have of Lissie and Roscoe?”

“Nothing’s cuter than the picture of Lissie and Roscoe, but this one comes pretty close.” Stiles shoved his phone in Scott’s face as soon as he managed to get his shirt over his head. “Don’t lie, it’s pretty cute.”

“Fine, I guess it is pretty cute. Roscoe and Lissie are cuter.”

“Whatever you say, Scott.”

“Quiet down, cupcakes!” Finstock stomped into the locker room with his tree frog hanging precariously onto the brim of his hat. “Today we’re going to be scrimmaging. I’ve already split you up into teams so come check the list then pick up the color jersey you’re listed under. Be on the field in five minutes. Hurry up!”

Scott looked at Stiles nervously before heading over to the list Finstock had pinned to the corkboard above two boxes of jerseys. Stiles finished strapping on his pads and lacing up his cleats, then headed over to the list hoping that he and Scott would be on the same team. Of course Stiles’s life didn’t work that way, so he ended up not being on Scott’s team and instead had both Derek Hale and Jackson Whittemore with him. Groaning Stiles plucked a maroon jersey out of one of the boxes and threw it on without bothering to check the size.

Stiles was just thinking about how lucky it was he managed to get a jersey in his size when realization hit him. It had been pouring all day long which meant practice would be wet, muddy, and feel about ten times longer than it normally would. He let out a groan and let his head thunk against the door wishing that he hadn’t gotten into lacrosse over the summer for the millionth time. Stiles finally pushed open the door and started to jog out to the lacrosse field.

The rain had let up some since Stiles got a good look outside during lunch and was more of drizzle than a downpour, but there would still be plenty of mud to slip in. Stiles sat his water bottle down next to Scott’s, then went to stand next to the owner of the water bottle. Scott gave him a weak smile that made it blatantly obvious he was more than a little bit nervous at the prospect of scrimmaging. Stiles nudged his shoulder against Scott’s and gave him an encouraging thumbs up.

“Since this is just a scrimmage, I’m going to let you decide amongst yourselves who’s playing what position. I’m giving you five minutes to figure it out. Get going! I’m not getting any younger.”

Stiles moved to stand with the rest of the people wearing maroon jerseys earning him a sneer from Jackson as soon as he came to a stop. “Oh, joy. Stilinski’s on our team.”

“Shove it, Whittemore.”

“Can we focus on the game?” Derek looked as irritated as ever and like he was one hundred percent ready to go home and get away from everyone else. “Danny play goalie. Boyd, Aiden, and I will be the defence. Jackson take face-offs and play mid with Isaac and Matt. Stiles, Liam, and Ethan play attacker. Work for everybody?”

Everyone on the team either agreed with Derek or knew better than to say anything that might upset the teen more than he already was. Once everyone was in place on the field, Finstock placed a ball down between the two doing the face-off and blew his whistle. Jackson easily muscled the other player off of the ball and threw it to Isaac. Isaac took several steps down the field, then threw the ball to a wide open Liam who got most of the way down the field before he was cut off by two defenders. He faked the two out by fainting one way, then moving the other direction to throw the ball at Stiles. Stiles spun around his defender and whipped the ball through the air so it landed firmly in the back netting.

The scrimmage continued to be dominated by the maroon team until Finstock finally blew his whistle for a water break at which point he started to switch up the teams. Stiles, Derek, and Isaac were all moved to the white team, while Greenberg, Mason, and Brett were switched to the maroon team. The three swapped jersey with one another and jogged to join the rest of their new team waiting for them in the field. Stiles smiled at Scott and pulled him into a quick bro-hug while everyone was still busy standing awkwardly around.

“So I guess we’ll just fill in the holes?” Isaac was leaning on his crosse with his eyebrows raised in his usual sassy manner. “Please tell me someone else is going to be taking the face-offs. Whoever was doing it before was appalling.”

“Mason was taking them.”

“Good thing he’s not on the team anymore. Stiles, you up for taking them?”

Stiles looked around the circle like he was expecting someone else with his name to be the one Isaac was talking to. “Seriously? I’ve never done a face-off. I’d have no clue what to do.”

“Get the ball first.”

“Awesome advice. Maybe you should takeover for Coach.”

“I heard that Bilinski! Get into positions.”

Stiles glared at Isaac when he pushed him towards where Jackson was standing in the middle of the field. He let out a sigh when Jackson seemed to realize what was going on and got the most impressive bitch face Stiles had ever seen apart from Sam Winchester. The two crotched down with their crosses at the ready and waited for Coach Finstock to finally blow the whistle. As soon as the shrill sound ripped through the air, Stiles lurched forward for the ball managing to win the face-off somehow. He quickly passed the ball off to Scott who caught the ball and passed it on to Isaac just as fast.

The second half of the scrimmage was much more even than the first half except when it came to the face-offs. Jackson might have been able to muscle Stiles off the ball, but Stiles moved so quickly after the whistle blew Jackson never had the chance to fight for it. It didn’t surprise anyone on the field that this caused Jackson to become increasingly frustrated to the point his tackles were leaving the other players on the field in a daze for a few seconds.

Coach had barely announced the last minute of the scrimmage when Jackson took the opportunity to blindside Stiles from the side. The sound of something snapping filled the air followed shortly by the thud of a body and a whimper of pain. A blob of bright orange streaked onto the field and started to nose determinedly at the helmet covering the body’s face. A set of large hands helped pull the helmet off so the fox could nuzzle the teen’s face in comfort. Lissie let out a painful yowl that had several of the players standing on the field covering their ears.

“Move away from him you morons. Hit the showers. Go! Hey, Stilinski. Can you hear me?”

“Yes.” Stiles’s voice came out breathy and pained. “My arm.”

“McCall, isn’t your mother a nurse?”

“Yes, si-”

“What are you standing around for then? Go call her!” Scott hesitated for a second, but sprinted towards the school after Stiles gave him a reassuring smile that looked more like a pained grimace. “I’m going to go call your father. Hopefully he doesn’t have me arrested for this. Stay with him, Hale.”

“Yes, sir. I’m not really good at comforting.”

“What a shocker. I never would have guessed.”

“Think of something else.”

“You mean besides the feeling of my arm screaming in pain? You want me to think about something other than that? Very helpful.”

Derek huffed angrily in response and moved his attention to the fox still nosing desperately at the side of Stiles’s face. Derek leaned over Stiles so he could lift the fox away and put the little animal into the small hole between his crossed legs. The fox instantly tried to wiggle out of Derek’s lap, but calmed down when Stiles brought his good hand up to pet her head. A heart breaking whine bubbled out of Lissie’s throat that had Derek running a hand through her fur before he realized what he was doing.

“You don’t have to be ashamed. Her fur is pretty soft.”

“That’s why people make scarves out of fox tails.”

“Don’t say stuff like that around her!” Stiles tried to punch Derek’s arm and ended up jostling his injured one in the process. “Bad idea. Such a bad idea. Why would you let me do that?”

“I can’t stop you from being an idiot.”

“Very funny. Do you see Finstock or Scotty? I’m starting to lose feeling in my arm and as great as that is from a pain stand point, I don’t think it’s so good from a medical one.”

“I could just drive you to the hospital. It would probably be quicker.”

“And face the wrath of the almighty cupcake? You would do that for me? I thought you said you didn’t like me.”

“The quicker you get to the hospital, the quicker I can get away from you.”

“You can’t fool me now, Hale. I’m on to you.” Stiles tilted his head back at the sound of two car doors slamming shut followed by two sets of running feet. “Those liars. I knew they were dating.”

* * *

 

By the time Stiles got to school the next day, he was already ready to go home and take a long, long nap with Lissie. The only reason he had gotten to sleep the night before was thanks to the amazing pain relievers Mama McCall had managed to get for him. For that reason Stiles had woken up groggier than normal and needed an extra cup of coffee to get his brain functioning properly. The remaining part of his morning was spent struggling to get ready for school with only one hand since his other was casted up.

Stiles felt like banging his head into his locker instead of opening it up and getting the books he would need for his first three classes. After careful maneuvering, Stiles got his locker open, removed his books, and managed to balance everything in his right arm. He used his left shoulder to nudge his locker shut and let out a sigh of relief when nothing went clattering to the floor. The sound of someone yelling his name made Stiles turn around right as Jackson was walking by. A well placed elbow sent Stiles’s books scattering around the crowded hallway much to Jackson’s amusement.

Stiles was about to bend down to pick up his books when a familiar head of black hair started to pick them up quicker than Stiles could ever hope to with one arm. Instead of offering to help, Stiles dropped his right hand down to scratch behind Zeke’s ears immediately getting a happy rumble from the wolf for his troubles. The wolf’s ears perked up at the sight of Derek coming towards them with all of Stiles’s books clutched firmly to his chest.

“Which way is your class?”

“Aw, sweetie! You don’t have to do that!”

Derek scowled in response, but didn’t make a move to shove the book at Stiles. “Which way?”

“I’ve got English.”

“Come on.”

When Stiles didn’t instantly start to follow Derek, Zeke managed to wedge himself behind Stiles so he could nudge Stiles forward. Stiles let out a barely audible chuckle, but did as the wolf wanted him to without putting up any fuss. Everyone in the hall stared at Stiles as he walked by, including Scott who looked at him like Stiles had somehow grown a second head over night. In response to the “what” Scott mouthed at him, Stiles simply shrugged his shoulders and picked up his pace so he didn’t lose Derek.

“Is this what it’s like to date you? You do cute stuff like carry their books and then walk in stony silence? I hate to tell you this, but the silence doesn’t really work.”

“Are you incapable of being quiet?”

“Haven’t you already asked me that? I could have sworn you did. The answer is yes by the way. I thrive on conversation.”

“Fantastic. Which seat is yours?”

“I sit in that one.”

Derek dropped the books on the desk causing a loud thud to fill the room and the English teacher to look up from the paper she was reading. She looked between the two students with disinterest and only went back to her paper once she was sure they weren’t about to cause trouble. Stiles cautiously took his seat making sure to keep his eye on the cat curled up on the corner of his teacher’s desk. Once he was sure the cat wasn’t going to pounce on him, he turned back to Derek who actually had an amused expression twisting his face.

“I didn’t know you were capable of having more than one emotion. Why do you look like that? It’s kind of creeping me out.”

“Why are you looking at a cat like it’s going to eat you alive?”

“I’m not entirely sure her cat won’t. I’m almost certain it’s part demon.”

“Cristo.” The cat continued to purr peacefully in its sleep without a care in the world. “I think you’re going to have to get another theory.”

“Oh, my God. Derek Hale is a Supernatural fan. Do you also like comic books? Important question: Marvel or DC?”

“I have class. Come on, Zeke.”

Zeke gave Stiles a pitiful look that made him want to give the wolf a huge hug, but Stiles simply scratched behind his ear one more time then shoved him towards the door. As soon as Zeke started to head for the door, Lissie jumped from Stiles’s shoulders to go after him. She managed to catch up with him just as he reached the door and took a hold of his tail with her teeth so she could tug on it. It took every ounce of self-control for Stiles to not let out a loud “aww” at the sight of Zeke turning around to nuzzle Lissie’s neck. Lissie preened at the attention and returned the favor once the wolf finished.

The two didn’t look ready to budge anytime soon making it difficult for the other students trying to get into the classroom to do just that. Derek tried to call Zeke to him, but the wolf didn’t even spare him a glance for his troubles. Stiles bit his lip in amusement at Derek’s attempt to tug the wolf out of the room by its neck. It wasn’t until Lydia appeared in the doorway with a sour look on her face that he decided he should help Derek out. Stiles easily managed to pluck Lissie off of the floor and carry her back to his desk despite the fact she was half-heartedly trying to claw and bite at him. She had never once actually bit or scratched Stiles when he pulled her away from something she wanted so he wasn’t worried.

Stiles had thought he had managed to put an end to the situation by removing Lissie, but something pulling on the bottom of his shirt made it obvious he hadn’t. He looked down at Zeke who already had his eyes wide and pleading for Stiles to let him stay with him. Looking away from those big, silver eyes didn’t help the situation any considering Zeke started to whine the moment he looked away. Upon meeting Derek’s frustrated eyes Stiles tried his best to convince Zeke to go with him, but he didn’t move an inch towards the door.

“He can just stay here…”

Derek nodded stiffly and glared at Zeke, not that this bothered him in the least if the fact he was already lying peacefully next to Stiles was anything to go by. In no time at all Lissie was curled up on Zeke’s back, like she had been yesterday in the cafeteria, looking extremely comfortable. Several girls cooed at the two Soul Animals on their way to their seats and one even bent down to pet them quickly. They spent the entire class sleeping curled around each other much to Stiles’s amusement.

* * *

 

With Scott’s help Stiles put all his books back into his locker before he made his way to the lunch room trailed by his two shadows. Things got a bit complicated during Stiles’s trip through the lunch line considering he had to put food on his tray and move down the line at the same time. Luckily a curly haired blonde magically appeared in line behind him and helped him move along so the people behind him didn’t riot. Stiles smiled gratefully at Isaac while he waited for the lunch lady to finish counting out his change.

“Is this the part where I say take me to your leader?”

Isaac’s dingo laughed along with him making it obvious why Isaac had ended up with a dingo as a Soul Animal. “You didn’t really need to say anything. I kind of figured he might want his Soul Animal back. Want to explain how you ended up with Zeke?”

“I think I’ll wait until we get wherever we’re going. I’m sure everyone else is going to ask the same exact question.”

“Prepare for Erica to tease you mercilessly and Laura and Cora.”

“Fantastic. Totally looking forward to it.”

Isaac and Stiles passed by the table Jackson was sitting at with his normal crew except for a familiar crook jawed boy next to the new girl. Stiles’s mouth dropped open slightly when the new girl leaned further into Scott’s space with a shy smile on. Stiles managed to catch Scott’s eye before he walked out the door and gave him a thumbs up with his casted up hand. A bump against the back of Stiles’s knee had him moving faster to catch back up with Isaac who was holding the door to the outside tables open.

Stiles started to slow down his pace when he saw the table already looked like it was packed full of people. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and held his chin up high while he still had some of his dignity left to do so. Before he even reached the table, Zeke ran off from him and barked happily at Derek causing the older teen to turn around. It didn’t surprise Stiles at all that the first thing Derek did when he saw him was glare at him for something that definitely wasn’t his fault. He didn’t tell Zeke to refuse to go with Derek this morning.

“Hey…”

“Stiles!” Laura stood up from her place at the table and ran around it to hug a shocked Stiles that didn’t have enough time to wrap his arms around her in response. “You poor thing. Derek told me what happened last night. Jackson is a complete jackass. It doesn’t even surprise me that he would do something like that.”

“I don’t think it surprised anyone.”

“Finstock better make him regret that decision.”

“The only way he could do that is by taking away his hair gel and face moisturizer.”

Laura snorted and pushed Stiles down in the now open seat next to Derek. “He’d cry for about five hours, then go out and buy some new ones.”

“Are you sure any of the stores around here sell his special brand?”

“Not at any store that can fit his head through the door.”

“Hit the nail right on the head with that one.”

“That’s what I do. So…” Laura took a sip out of her drink with her eyebrows raised and a predatory look on her face after she pulled away. “Want to explain to me why Zeke spent the morning with you instead of Derek? I tried to get Derek to talk, but he just glowered at me like an evil comic book villain.”

“Funny story, actually. Jackson knocked my books out of my hands this morning and Derek was kind enough to pick them up for me. Since I probably looked ridiculously pathetic, Derek decided to carry my books for me to class and it just so happened when he tried to leave, Zeke and Lissie weren’t exactly happy. I thought it would be easier to let them stay together instead of trying to force them apart, so Zeke stayed with Lissie and I. Not a big deal or anything. Totally normal.”

“Except Zeke hates everyone like Derek does. Spending time with other people is like going to the dentist for them.”

“What can I say? Lissie has a way of getting under people’s skin. It’s a real talent of hers.”

“You don’t say. I don’t think she’s the only one.”

“Um, okay. I’m going to eat now. Before this conversation gets any weirder.”

“You haven’t even seen weird yet. Things are going to get much weirder.”

Stiles slid closer to the end of the bench he was sitting on in case he had to bolt suddenly. “That makes me feel so much better.”

* * *

 

Stiles threw his backpack down next to the front door and kicked off his shoes so they ended up landing right next to his dad’s shoes. Four years of practicing that move had been time well spent. The sound of a baseball game playing in the living room made it clear that his dad was in there watching the game he missed last night. Stiles slowly crept into the living room trying his best not to alert his dad or his jackal of his presence. Ever since he was little, Stiles and his dad had made a game out of trying to scare the pants off of each other by sneaking up on one another. His dad was winning. By a lot.

Neither his dad nor his jackal caught sight of Stiles, so he vaulted himself over the back of the couch and onto the empty cushion next to his dad. Sheriff’s Stilinski’s head shot up from where it had fallen onto his chest during the nap he hadn’t planned on taking. His jackal nipped at Stiles for rudely waking up his master and grabbed a hold of Lissie’s neck when she tried to pounce on him. The two Soul Animals started to play fight on the floor while the Sheriff went back to reading the newspaper that had put him to sleep earlier and Stiles watched the game.

“So when you met mom, how did your Soul Animals act around one another?”

Sheriff Stilinski lowered his paper dubiously and took in the faux innocent look his son was sporting. “Why do you ask?”

“Something sort of strange may have happened today.”

“Do we need to have the talk?”

“What?” Stiles sat up so fast he almost tipped over and went tumbling to the ground. “We had the talk when I was like eleven. It was embarrassing, especially since Melissa had you give it to Scott at the same time. I remember it vividly. No need to rehash that.”

“I wasn’t talking about that talk.”

“What other talk would we have?”

“The one about Soul Mates?”

“I didn’t say anything about finding my Soul Mate. I just wanted to know how your Soul Animals acted around each other.”

“You can’t expect to ask about how your mother and I’s Soul Animals acted around each other and not have me assume you found your Soul Mate.”

“I happen to enjoy hearing about your relationship.”

“Uh huh. Let’s try this again.” Sheriff Stilinski turned off the TV so Stiles wouldn’t have any reason to act like he was distracted and couldn’t hear him. “Why are you asking about our Soul Animals? Did something happen at school today?”

“Fine. There’s this boy.”

“A boy?”

“Yes. A boy. Derek Hale. We don’t exactly get along, but today our Soul Animals acted a little… clingy. Derek walked me to class and when he tried to leave Zeke didn’t want to go with him and Lissie got upset after he tried to.”

“If you two don’t get along, why was he walking you to class?”

“Because Jackson’s a douche and knocked my books out of my hand. Anyway, I grabbed Lissie away and Zeke ended up tugging on my shirt with this pitiful look on his face so he ended up staying with me and Lissie until lunch.”

“Right and you’re sure you and Derek don’t get along.”

Stiles scoffed at his dad’s question and rolled his eyes dramatically. “Derek absolutely hates me. I made him look like an idiot during lacrosse try outs and he’s sent me the mal de ojo every time he’s seen me since then. I have to run my hand over my eyes after I see him to wipe it off.”

“Every time?”

“Well, okay, there may have been this one time Derek actually smiled at me, but that’s because he thought I was being a complete idiot. He went right back to glaring at me after I pointed it out.”

“He likes you.”

“No. He doesn’t. I think I would know. I see him at school every day.”

“You wouldn’t know if someone liked you if they smacked you in the face and confessed their undying love to you.

“Hey!”

“It’s true.” Sheriff Stilinski picked his newspaper up and went back to reading it like he son hadn’t interrupted him with life changing information. “You two will get your heads out of your asses eventually. Next time you get up, get my cell phone for me.”

“Why?”

“I need to call Melissa and Talia.”

“Talia? As in Talia Hale?”

“That would be her. We need to start planning.”

“I hate you.” Stiles pushed himself off of the couch and went to get his backpack so he could distract himself with some good old fashioned homework.

“Don’t forget my cell phone.”

“Still hate you!”

* * *

 

“You’ll never believe what my dad said last night.” Stiles threw his bag underneath the bench and plopped down on it next to Scott. “He was being completely ridiculous and he thought he was so funny.”

“My mom already told me.”

“Please, tell me she didn’t believe him.”

“Actually… She thinks your dad is right.”

“Unbelievable. We don’t even get along. Derek hates me!”

“That might not be entirely true.”

Stiles gaped at Scott and spluttered several times before managing to get any words out of his mouth. “What is that supposed to mean? Derek hates me. You’ve seen the glaring!”

“Yeah. He glares at you when he knows you’re looking, but he gets this weird constipated expression every time he looks at you and you’re looking away.”

“A weird constipated expression? That’s wonderful. Totally see how that means he likes me.”

“He let his Soul Animal stay with you.”

“Zeke wouldn’t leave! That just means his Soul Animal likes me. Technically, his Soul Animal likes my Soul Animal. They’re like best buds. Cuddle buddies.”

“He wouldn’t leave his Soul Animal with you if he didn’t like and trust you. I’m sure he could have dragged Zeke away if he really wanted to. Plus, you haven’t denied that you don’t like him. All your arguments have been about Derek not liking you.”

“That’s ridiculous! I don’t like Derek!” Stiles moved his attention from Scott to where Derek was taking out an opponent on the field. “I mean sure he’s handsome and it was really sweet of him to pick up my books for me and I love Zeke and I have always said it’s important that my Soul Animal gets along with anyone I date’s Soul Animal. That doesn’t mean I like Derek!”

“Uh huh. Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”

“I don’t like you anymore. We can’t be best friends. I’m getting a new one.”

“Who?”

Stiles looked around until his eyes landed on one of the freshmen benchwarmers that kind of reminded Stiles of himself. “Him.”

“Do you even know his name?”

“It’s something with an M. Martin. Mitch. Martian Manhunter.”

“I’m pretty sure he’s not a Justice League alien.”

“Mason! That’s his name!” The teen Stiles had been pointing at looked up in shock at the sound of his name being call and got wide eyed when he saw Stiles and Scott staring at him. “Hey! How you doing?”

“He’s going to think you’re hitting on him.”

“Shut up. You want to be my new best friend? I just fired my old one.”

Scott grabbed a hold of Stiles after he started to get up and jerked him back onto the bench. “You’re terrifying him. He probably already has a best friend. Sorry about him! His dad said he was dropped on his head as a child. A lot.”

“I was not! He’s lying. This is why I’m getting rid of you as a best friend. Come on, Lissie. We’re going to go sit with our new best friend.”

“Leave that poor kid alone.”

“Fine. I can find another.”

“Like who?”

Stiles turned around in his seat to look at the people in the stands and waved back at his new best friend with a smirk on his face. “There. New best friend.”

“Laura Hale? Your new best friend is going to be Laura Hale.”

“It just so happens that Laura loves me. We’re practically BFFs already. You were the only thing standing in our way.”

“You’re friends with his sister?” Scott had a huge grin on his face that made Stiles want to punch it right off of him. “I guess you can check befriending the in-laws off your list of things to do to get Derek.”

“I’m never speaking to you again.”

* * *

 

On Monday, Stiles was more than a little bit excited to be able to sit with Scott during lunch instead of having to chase down Lissie and sit outside. The only downside was the fact sitting with Scott now meant sitting with Jackass and his gang of merry misfits. The jerk had glared at him the moment Stiles sat down and only let up after Lydia stepped on his foot under the table. To make up for his friend’s rudeness, Danny had smiled cheekily at Stiles and introduced him to his Francois leaf monkey, Ginger.

“How was your weekend?”

“Awesome. I ended up doing my homework on Saturday instead of Sunday like I normally do because it takes me twice as long to finish typing up things as normal. What with the cast. I couldn’t play video games to relax like I normally do. Can’t hold the controller. So great.”

The table fell into an awkward silence until Allison cleared her throat and leaned over Scott so she could hold her hand out to Stiles. “I’m Allison. It’s nice to finally meet you. Scott has told me so much about you. I thought you’d be spending lunch with your boyfriend.”

“My boyfriend?”

“Scott said his name was Derek Hale. People talk about him all the time. I didn’t know he was dating someone until Scott told me.”

“Scott was the one who told you that? That’s interesting.”

“Why do I get the feeling I just said something wrong?”

“Derek’s not my boyfriend. I hope you don’t mind me killing your boyfriend later. I know where you live mister. I have a key.”

“I am so sorry. I didn’t realize.”

“Not your fault. Scott will get what’s coming to hi-” Stiles let out a high pitched screech and nearly fell out of his chair after something knocked into. “What the hell!”

Stiles grabbed a hold of the table with his good hand to keep from getting thrown out of his chair. Whatever was under his chair bucked up causing the table to move up with him because of his grip on it and his legs pressing up from underneath. The chair was moved to the side suddenly almost sending Stiles flying off to the side and to the cafeteria floor. Once again the chair flew upward and this time tipped backwards at the same time so Stiles was sure he was about to end up landing on his head.

Before his butt could even leave the chair though, a pair of arms pulled him out of the chair and into a bridal carry that had Stiles wrapping his arms around the person’s neck to keep from dipping back. Stiles tipped his head to the side to try to see what made his chair decide to go all poltergeist on him. A furry black behind was sticking out of the underside of Stiles’s chair and had a furiously wagging tail attached to it.

“Zeke! Get out from under there!” Stiles snapped his fingers loudly to get the wolf’s attention and was more than a little surprised to see Lissie zipping out from between Zeke’s hind legs. “Oh, my god! Lissie, stop tormenting him!”

Zeke tried to back out from underneath the chair, but was clearly stuck with no hope of getting out without a little help from someone. Luckily, Scott was a kind hearted soul that couldn’t leave any animal helpless and immediately stepped up to save the day. The poor wolf ended up stumbling backwards from the force he had been using to try to dislodge himself from the chair. As soon as the wolf had its bearings again, he whipped around to look for Lissie.

Stiles let out a squeak when Zeke stood up on his hind legs and pressed his front paws against Stiles’s body for leverage. Stiles followed Zeke’s gaze and had to smother his laughter into Zeke’s neck at the sight of Lissie curled up on the top of Derek’s head. The wolf fur in his mouth was the only thing holding Stiles back from making a comment about how good Derek looked with red hair. Slowly Stiles lifted his head up from the safety of Zeke’s neck and was met with Derek’s infamous glare.

“Let me just take that from you.” Stiles plucked the proud looking fox off of the top of Derek’s head much to Zeke’s pleasure. “I’d apologies, but for once this isn’t Lissie’s fault. Zeke started it.”

“She was taunting him.”

“What? She was napping under the lunch table next to Roscoe. She was not taunting him. Are you seriously blaming her for Zeke wanting to play with her?”

“Zeke doesn’t like to play.”

“Ugh!” Stiles started to twist around in Derek’s arms and unwrapped his arms from around Derek’s neck so he could use them to push at Derek’s face, neck, and chest. “You are unbelieve! You’re such a… Sourwolf! That’s what you are a Sourwolf! Just because you hate having fun, doesn’t mean that Zeke hates having fun. In fact, maybe if you had a little fun, that stick would get dislodged from your ass. Come on, Lissie.”

With a huff, Stiles grabbed his backpack off the floor and yanked it on in an angry flail of limbs. Lissie jumped onto his shoulders once the backpack was securely on his shoulders and curled around his neck like a scarf. She spun around on his shoulders right after he started stomping away from Derek and let out a pathetic whine in Stiles’s ear. The door flew open in a flurry from the force Stiles used to push it and banged into the lockers on the other side of it.

His footsteps echoed off of the walls as he stomped down the hallway to his locker so he could distract himself by getting the books for her next class. He had to stop trying to put the combination into his lock because his hands were shaking so badly he couldn’t control his spins. After a few calming breaths, Stiles raised his hand back up and put his combination in with ease. A wet nose pushed up the hem of Stiles’s hoodie making him jump in surprise and turn to see Zeke looking pathetically at him.

“What are you doing here buddy? Where’s your asshole of an owner?” Zeke let out a little whimper that had Stiles caving before he even knew what Zeke was wanting and that’s how Stiles got stuck with two Soul Animals for the rest of the day. Not just the school day.

* * *

 

Grumbling. That’s what Stiles had been doing the entire drive home. Originally, he had planned on staying after school to watch lacrosse practice, but after his big blow up at Derek he decided that wouldn’t be the best idea. The only problem was Zeke hadn’t tried to go back to his owner at all so Stiles tracked Laura and Cora down in the parking lot to try to give Zeke to them. The two just laughed in his face and told him to take Zeke home with him as punishment for Derek being an asshole. Who lets someone take their brother’s Soul Animal! It’s cruel.

Stiles ushered the two Soul Animals inside and leaned back against the door once it was shut firmly behind him. Of course the moment he began to feel calm, he heard the sound of his dad banging around in the kitchen like a bull in a China shop. Why did he have to get stuck with Zeke on the one day his dad had off to witness and say a million “I told you so’s?” He took a deep breath and decided to go ahead and bite the bullet.

“Hey, dad.” Stiles stood awkwardly in the doorway to the kitchen and picked at the chipped paint. “How was work?”

“Good. Why do you sound guilty?”

“I don’t sound guilty.”

“Even if you didn’t sound guilty, you’re standing by the kitchen entrance. You look like you’re preparing to bolt.”

Stiles let out a hysterical sounding laugh and tried to lean against the doorway casually. “What are you talking about? I’m not getting ready to bolt. This is me having a normal conversation with my dad, my father, mi padre.”

“What did you do this time?”

“I did nothing! I am-am the victim! The victim of an unfortunate situation that is not my fault whatsoever.”

“Why are you acting so shady if it wasn’t your fault?”

“Because you’re going to laugh at me.”

Sheriff Stilinski set down the pot he had been filling with water and crossed the room to stand in front of his son. “Why would I laugh at you?”

“I might as well get this over with.” Stiles whistled loudly and stepped out of the doorway so Zeke could come padding into the kitchen. “Go ahead. Laugh.”

“I’m still confused. Why do you have a wolf? It didn’t eat Lissie did it?”

“Of course not! This is Zeke.”

“Isn’t that the name of that boy’s Soul Animal? Derek Hale.”

“Yes.”

“You have Derek Hale’s Soul Animal?”

“Yes.”

“What about-”

“She’s probably already curled up in her favorite cuddling spot in the living room waiting for Zeke.”

“So you have two Soul Animals: yours and Derek’s?”

“Yes.”

“I thought you said you weren’t dating.” Sheriff Stilinski was smirking at his son with a twinkle in his eyes that had Stiles wanting to crawl under a rock and die. “This definitely doesn’t look like the kind of thing two people who aren’t dating would do.”

“For your information, the reason I have the wolf is the complete opposite of what you’re thinking.”

“Go ahead and explain. I know you’re dying to.”

“For some reason, I don’t think you’re being sincere.”

“I’m listening, Stiles.”

“Okay. I was eating lunch with Scotty and some other friends today and out of nowhere I almost ended up flying out of my chair. Someone ended up pulling me out of my seat, at which point I realized it was Zeke messing around under my chair. He was trying to get to Lissie who bolted out from underneath the table knowing Zeke couldn’t get out. Scotty ended up having to pull the chair off of him and he instantly tried to get to Lissie. She happened to be sitting on top of Derek head which I thought was hilarious. One thing lead to another and the next thing I know Derek is insulting Lissie so naturally I jump to her defence. That caused a screaming match that ended with me storming out and Zeke deciding to tag along.”

“Let me get this straight. You and Derek got into a fight and the kids chose to stay with you.”

“You’re the worst. The actual worst. I’m going to stay with Melissa. Scott can stay here since he’s as terrible as you are.”

“Be back in time for dinner.”

“Never!”

* * *

 

“Thanks for letting me come over, Ms. McCall.” Stiles took a sip out of the hot chocolate she had made him and ran his free hand over Zeke’s head. “I kind of need some advice. My dad hasn’t really been any help.”

“You know you can come over whenever you want, honey. Your dad told me all about what happened and I’m here for you to talk to.”

“This situation is just, so confusing. I don’t understand why Zeke is acting this way. He’s Derek’s Soul Animal. Why did he come running after me? I get that him and Lissie have become friends and everything, but he’s still Derek’s.”

“Have you ever heard that Soul Animals aren’t just a physical depiction of our personality, but a conduit for our emotions? Some people say that when we lie to ourselves about our feelings, other can tell how we really feel because our Soul Animals can’t be lied to. They show how we actually feel.”

“I hadn’t heard that before.”

Ms. McCall set down her coffee and leaned back in her chair with a sigh. “After Scott’s dad started to drink, I did some research into it. His Soul Animal had been acting so different than normal and so different from him. I thought it was strange, then I found out why and it all made sense. I kicked him out not long after that.”

“You did the right thing.”

“I know, sweetie. We’re not talking about me though. We’re talking about you. This boy likes you. He just doesn’t know how to show it.”

“Wonderful. Every person’s dream.”

“Tell me about the fight. Your dad said that’s why Zeke’s staying with you tonight.”

“Well…” I knew Melissa wouldn’t want me leaving out any details, but the idea of cussing in front of the woman I had come to view as a second mother was terrifying. “It started after I said something about it being his turn to apologize because Lissie’s normally the one that instigates things and I have to end up apologizing. Derek got all rude and started saying Lissie was the one at fault, but she’d been napping with Roscoe! She didn’t do anything. I yelled at him, he yelled at me. He said Zeke didn’t like to have fun and I called him a Sourwolf and told him that he was the one that didn’t like to have fun and that maybe having some would get the stick out of his ass. Then I kind of stormed out.”

“Sounds like he deserved it.”

“You’re not just saying that because you have to?”

“Of course not. You know I give you my honest opinion. Derek got defensive and lashed out, then you got upset and told him off. You had every right to do it.”

“I hear a ‘but’ coming.”

“But, I think you should be the one to initiate a conversation with Derek about what happened.”

“Shouldn’t he be the one coming to me and apologizing?”

Melissa chuckled and ran a comforting hand through Stiles’s hair. “You’re on your way to being an adult now, Stiles. That means treating this kind of situations like a grownup would. Derek obviously isn’t comfortable talking about his feelings. You need to be the one that steps up and takes the initiative.”

“What do you mean?”

“Tell him about your feels so he feels comfortable telling you about his feelings.”

“I don’t have feelings for Derek.” Stiles tried to hide his blush by staring down at his hot chocolate like it was the most interesting thing in the world. “That’s absurd. Why would I like a guy that has done nothing, but act like a complete jerk to me? Besides those two times he wasn’t. I mean-”

“Stiles, look at your Soul Animals. A fox and a wolf cuddling together and playing with one another. Those two animals don’t typically get along, but these two do. These two Soul Animals that are a representation of you and Derek.”

“What if I’m not ready for this?”

“Ready for what?”

“Soul Mates! I remember how my parent’s Soul Animals were together. I know I asked my dad about it like I didn’t, but I do and that scares me. Zeke and Lissie act the way that mom and dad’s used to. I’m sixteen. Am I really prepared to start dating my perfect other half?”

“Don’t think of it that way.”

Stiles spluttered at the nonchalant way Melissa managed to say that statement. “How do I not think that way? I know it’s the truth. I can’t just forget it.”

“I know that. You’re too intelligent for your own good some times. This is one of those times. By don’t think that way, I mean think of it as just dating. Not dating your Soul Mate or other half. Just dating.”

“How do I do that?”

“You’re a teenaged boy, Stiles! Act like a teenaged boy. You’ve never dated before. Live in the moment. Have you first kiss. Hold hands. Go on dates. This is a new experience for you. Treat it like that.”

“Why do you ask the impossible from me, Mama McCall? You know I’m not a normal teenaged boy. I’m the weirdo with ADHD and a penchant for getting in trouble. Less trouble now that I only have one arm, but still known for causing mayhem.”

Melissa rolled her eyes and gripped Stiles’s hand in one of hers. “I didn’t say you had to pretend to be normal. Force him to take you out for curly fries. Drag him to cheesy zombie movies. Make him binge watch cartoons you’re too old for on Netflix.”

“I am not too old for them! They may be on kid’s channels, but they include things from comic books that only a true fan could appreciate!”

“Want more hot chocolate?”

“Is that a serious question?”

“Not childish at all.” Stiles pretended to glare at Melissa while she chuckled under her breath and put more milk into the pan she had used earlier. “I’ll put in marshmallows.”

* * *

 

Finding out where Derek’s locker was wasn’t the least bit difficult considering Laura Hale was waiting for Stiles in the parking lot with a smirk on her face. Stiles was a bit shocked at this since he had decided to show up at school a lot earlier than normal. He hadn’t expected anyone to be at the school so he would have plenty of time to get his thoughts together and try to calm down. Laura had to go and ruin his awesome plan to get his shit together. Freaking Hales.

“You can do this, Stiles. He’s just a teenager. Nothing special about him.” Stiles let his head drop back against Derek’s locker with a groan. “Who am I kidding? I’m going to make a complete fool out of myself.”

“Why is that?”

“Derek!”

“Stiles?”

“You’re here.”

Derek tipped his head to the side in confusion. “Why wouldn’t I be here? I go to school here. This is my locker.”

“I know that. Not in a creepy way! Your sister told me where it was. I didn’t ask her for it either. She was just at the school and I got here early and she was here and she offered up the information since I have Zeke.”

“They told me you took him. I mean. They told me they told you to take him.”

“I didn’t feel like staying after for lacrosse.”

“Finstock was pretty upset about that. He’s probably going to yell at you for it.”

“He’s always yelling. It won’t be any different.” Stiles shifted awkwardly when Derek didn’t say anything in reply and finally ended up blurting out the words he’d practiced with Mama McCall the night before. “I’m not going to ask for an apology. That would be petty and I wouldn’t want any apology that I had to ask for. It wouldn’t mean anything. What was I supposed to say next? I have this. Just give me a second. What was it Mama McCall said?”

“Um, Stiles?”

“Hold on! I have a whole speech about understanding that just because I’m comfortable expressing emotions doesn’t mean everyone is and it’s alright that you aren’t. Then there was something about understanding how intimidating this all is because I’m scared too, but we’re just teenagers so we should act like teenagers or no. What was it? We’re young so we don’t need to worry about-that’s wrong.”

“Stiles.”

“I’m almost done!” Stiles wracked his brain for what he had planned to say next and ended up deciding to just throw all his metaphorical index cards up in the air. “Look, I planned out this whole speech last night, but obviously I can’t exactly remember what that was. So I’m just going to talk because that’s what I do. I like you, even though you’re kind of an asshole. Luckily, I’m an asshole too so it doesn’t matter. Our Soul Animals get along and that means something. I know what I think that means and maybe you think the same thing, but that doesn’t matter right now. We’re young and we don’t need to worry about any of that right now.”

“Stiles, can I-”

“Just hold on a second. I want to say this. I want to date. Like the whole shebang. Holding hands and kissing and going on dates and spending time together because we can. I’m not asking for forever or even expecting it. I just want to try to see what we can be.”

Derek raised his eyebrows and waited a few seconds before he started to talk. “Is it my turn now?”

“Yes. Definitely your turn.”

“I was going to say my sisters had a little talk with me yesterday. They weren’t exactly happy after they heard about what I said to you. I know I’m not the easiest person to talk to. I get angry when I feel backed into a corner.”

“I’ve heard that’s a thing wolves do.”

“Shut up.” Derek had a fond smile on his face that had Stiles returning it before he could even think about what he was doing. “I didn’t mean to snap at you and I am sorry that I did. You drive me absolutely crazy. You seem to have a never ending lung capacity and a ridiculous love of sarcasm and you’re everywhere. I don’t know how you do it. You’re so full of life.”

“I’m not used to getting that many compliments in a row.”

“It’s my turn to talk.”

“Sorry. Continue.”

“My point was I don’t think I deserve you, especially after how rude I’ve been to you, but there’s a Star Wars marathon at the theatre tomorrow night. The originals not the newer ones and I wanted to know if you would go with me.”

“That’s-you’re asking me out? Really?”

“Yes… Should I not have?”

“Do you not remember the huge speech I just gave? Of course you should ask me out, Sourwolf!”

“I did! You haven’t answer.”

Stiles screwed his face up in confusion. “I didn’t. Whoops. The answer is yes. Obviously. Yes.”

* * *

 

“That was so much fun!” Stiles tightened his grip on Derek’s hand and bounced a little higher on his way into the diner causing Lissie to bob up and down on his shoulders. “Can you believe that Scotty has never seen those movies? None of them. He hasn’t even seen any of the new Star Wars movies! I’ve tried to make him, but he always manages to weasel his way out.”

“The heathen.”

“Thank you! My dad isn’t nearly as understanding about it as you are. He just rolls his eyes and tells me I’m being ridiculous.”

“Want me to beat him up for you?”

Stiles busted out laughing and nearly tripped over his own feet in the process. “As kind of an offer as that is, I don’t think that would end well for you. My dad is the Sheriff after all. He’d have no problem throwing you in a jail cell.”

“I guess that’s a pretty good reason not to do it.”

“I can think of another reason not to do it.”

“What would that be?”

“I don’t date criminals.”

“Well, I’m definitely not doing it now.”

“Good, Sourwolf.”

Derek was about snark a reply, but the waitress cut him off with a smile and pop of her gum. “You two ready to order?”

“Yes. I’ll have a plain burger with curly fries and a chocolate milkshake.”

“The same.”

“I’ll have that right out.”

“Are you trying to get on my good side by eating the same thing I do?” Stiles laced his fingers together then plopped his chin down on top of them. “If you are, it’s totally working.”

“I ordered the same thing you did because I hadn’t looked at the menu.”

“You’ve never been here before?”

“No. I don’t really go out to eat much. My dad always makes enough food for a small army. No need to go out to eat.”

“That sounds amazing. I normally end up making dinner either for myself or for my dad and I. Sometimes I eat over at Scott’s, but he’s got work and his mom works night shifts like my dad so it doesn’t happen that often.”

“You could come over. Erica and Boyd come over all the time when they get lonely or need to get away from their home for a bit.”

“I don’t know. I’d hate to intrude.”

“You wouldn’t be intruding. My dad cooks like he expects ten more people than we have in the family to show up for dinner.”

“It does sound like a lot of fun. You’re sure your parents wouldn’t mind?”

“Trust me. They wouldn’t mind one more mouth to feed.”

“In that case, I guess I’ll have to take you up on that offer. Eventually. Might be a little early to be meeting the parents.”

Derek gave Stiles a smile he was slowly beginning to realize was something Derek saved only for him. “Probably a good idea. My mom would pull out the baby pictures the minute I left the two of you alone in a room together. She’d have me set the table or help my dad or something so she’d have the perfect opportunity.”

“Maybe I should come over. I bet there are some pretty adorable pictures of you.”

“I retract my offer.”

“Too late! Offers made. No take backs!”

“Damn it. I regret so much.”

“Would it make you feel better if I said you could come over any time? My dad has this great gun collection. He loves to show it off.”

“Thank you, Stiles. Very comforting.”

* * *

 

Stiles shifted around for the billionth time since both the boys and their Soul Animals had curled up on the couch together. It didn’t surprise Derek one bit that Stiles couldn’t stop moving around even when he was completely focused on the TV. He’d done the exact same thing during their date to the movies three weeks ago along with talking excitedly about whatever was going on. Today, Stiles had been suspiciously quiet and only said anything in response to something Derek had said.

A part of Derek wanted to ask Stiles if something was wrong, a larger part of him wanted to respect Stiles’s privacy in case something was wrong. Derek shifted his arm around to wrap around Stiles’s shoulders and pulled Stiles further into his body so Stiles was leaning more on Derek than the couch. Stiles tipped his head back and smiled up at Derek before motioning for Derek to go back to watching the TV. A wet nose pressed against Derek and Stiles’s intertwined hands until they finally unlaced them so they could run their hands over the wolf’s head.

“Zeke is so needy. Wonder where he gets that from.”

“Don’t pretend Lissie isn’t the exact same way. You two are always cuddled up together.”

“I have no problem admitting we like to get our cuddle on. That’s why we never have to beg for it.”

“Are you saying I don’t cuddle with Zeke enough?”

“He sleeps on your floor!”

“He likes sleeping on the floor.”

Stiles rolled his eyes and cooed at Zeke after he licked Stiles’s hand. “When he stayed the night with me, he slept on the bed with Lissie and I.”

“Never wants to sleep on my bed.”

“Your bed probably smells like sweaty teen boy. I don’t blame him.” Derek growled at Stiles causing the boy to laugh into Derek’s chest. “Bad, Sourwolf! Ow, okay. I’m kidding. Although, your sheets could use changing every once and a while. That’s all I’m saying. Watch the show.”

“Why are we watching this exactly?”

“It’s a good show. Be quiet.”

“Is that really all it takes you to be quiet? I thought you were upset about something.”

“Upset? Why would I be upset?”

“You talked through Star Wars. You love Star Wars. I figured you not talking through this was a bad sign.”

“Aw, Sourwolf. I knew you cared.” Stiles shimmed himself up Derek’s body and pressed a loud smack against Derek’s temple. “I may enjoy talking while I watch stuff, but I only do it when I know the other person has already seen what we’re watching. I’m not that much of an asshole.”

“Nice to know that’s where you draw the line.”

“For some reason, I don’t think that’s sincerity in your voice. Oh, quiet time. I love this episode.”

“You love every episode.”

Stiles removed the hand he had been using to scratch Zeke with and placed it over Derek’s mouth. “This one is really good. It’s the beginning of a beautiful ship.”

“And what ship would that be?”

“If you can’t figure it out for yourself, I just might have to break up with you.”

“Isn’t that a little dramatic.”

“Derek, if we’re going to continue dating, you need to understand how important these things are to me. It’s vital.”

“They’re fictional characters.”

“That’s it. You’re out of here. I’m keeping the kids. Find somewhere else to sleep tonight.”

“You’re missing your ship.”

“Damn it, Derek!”

* * *

 

Two more days. It was going to be two more days before Stiles could finally get the accursed cast off of his arm. Meanwhile, he would still have to struggle through getting the mountain of books out of his locker that he would then have to carry to class. The last book he needed for his morning classes was almost securely in his arms when something bumped into his legs causing Stiles to fumble with his books for a second before they dropped to the floor.

With a groan, Stiles let his head thunk against the locker next to him not caring about the headache he would more than likely end up getting. Stiles was expecting whoever had slammed into him (Jackson) to continue on his merry way so he was surprised when something slobbery licked against his fingertips. Lissie was off his shoulders in seconds and seated on her furry wolf companion like he was her own personal walking throne. It took every ounces of Stiles’s self-control not to roll his eyes at what he had taken to calling the Dynamic Duo.

“What have we told you about running into people? It’s rude. It causes them to do stuff like drop the things they’re carrying.”

“I don’t think he really cares since he’s getting rewarded for it.”

Stiles stuck his tongue out at Derek and kept on giving Zeke a nice head rub. “This is how I get him to love me more than he loves you.”

“Pretty sure it’s not possible for him to love you more than he loves me.”

“Pretty sure you’re wrong.”

“I’m not playing this game with you.”

“Because you know you’ll lose.”

“Only because you’re impossible to deal with.”

“You love it.”

“No, I put up with it.”

“Don’t act that way, Sourwolf!” Stiles grabbed a hold of Derek’s hand and laced their fingers together so he could swing them childishly between the two of them. “Are we still on for tonight?”

“Why wouldn’t we be?”

“I’m just making sure.”

“Yes. We’re still on for tonight.”

“Excellent. I am so excited. It’s gotten to the point that my dad has begged me to stop talking about it.”

“We’re just going for a hike through the woods.”

“Why do you have to make everything sound so much less romantic than it is?”

“It’s a hike in the woods.”

“You’re hopeless.” Stiles dropped down in his seat and watched as Derek carefully placed his books onto his desk. “It’s so much nicer when you don’t throw my stuff around.”

“I didn’t throw your stuff.”

“You dropped it. That’s practically the same thing. Now, go to class.”

“Yes, mom.”

“I am not your mother.”

“You kind of act like her sometimes.”

“I’m going to remember that.”

Derek chuckled under his breath and swung Lissie up onto his shoulders. “Sure you will.”

“Don’t think acting all adorable with Lissie is going to make me forgive you! It won’t! Even if you do look stupidly cute together. Freaking Derek.”

* * *

 

“Keep your eyes closed.”

Stiles huffed angrily and tightened his grip around Derek’s wrists. “I swear to all that is holy I will end you if I end up breaking my arm again. I got my cast off a month ago. I have absolutely no desire to have another one for at least another ten years.”

“Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course I trust you, Sourwolf!”

“Then you know I won’t let you trip and fall on your face or re-break your arm. Finstock and your father might kill me before you get the chance to.”

“You forgot Melissa.”

“I was suppressing that one. She’d be the worst of them all.” Derek moved one of his hands to cover both of Stiles’s eyes so he could wrap his arm around Stiles’s waist to keep him from tumbling over. “See? I’m not going to let you fall.”

“My hero! What about Lissie? I don’t want her to get hurt.”

“She’s riding safely on Zeke’s back looking like a regular princess.”

“Lissie is not a princess. How many times do I have to tell you this? She’s a-”

“Queen. I know. You really think I could forget that?”

Stiles pinched Derek’s forearm in retaliation for being a jackass and leaned further back into Derek’s body so he was now doing most of the work. “How much longer?”

“Five more minutes.”

“You said that twenty minutes ago. I’m not a child. I can actually tell time and when I’m being lied to.”

“It really isn’t that much farther.”

“I hope you know I’m going to make you carry me back. You show up at my house at an unholy hour, something my dad obviously knew about considering the smirk on his smug face, then dragged me to your car where you proceeded to blindfold me. I ended up falling asleep only for you to wake me up, take off the blindfold, cover my eyes with your hands, and start dragging me through the woods. Whatever this is, better be good.”

“I promise it will be worth it.”

Stiles hummed thoughtfully and let the two fall into silence so he could appreciate the feel of Derek’s body wrapped around his own. One of his hands started to draw random patterns along the skin of the arm Derek had securely fastened about his waist. As soon as Stiles’s finger started to swirl along Derek’s hand, the older boy trapped his fingers perfectly between his own. Derek pressed a soft kiss against Stiles’s cheek and slowly removed the hand he had covering Stiles’s eyes.

“Oh, Derek.” Stiles leaned fully back against Derek in an attempt to convey what he was feeling in action rather than in words. “It’s so beautiful.”

“I know you said you liked it last time we came here, so I thought you might like it even more at sunrise.”

“It’s prefect. So prefect.”

Derek let go of the firm hold he had on Stiles’s waist so he could shrug the pack off his back and dig through it for the blanket he had brought. He carefully spread the large blanket out over the rocky edge and the dirt while Stiles watched him with a fond smile on his face. Once Derek was satisfied with the setup, he took a seat on the blanket and held a hand out to Stiles who used it to help himself sit down next to Derek. The moment the two teens were comfortable their Soul Animals were immediately on them. Lissie curled up in a small ball on Stiles’s lap and purred under the feel of Stiles running his hand softly through her fur. Zeke laid down next to Derek’s leg and placed his head in Derek’ lap clearly wanting Derek to give him the same attention Stiles was giving Lissie.

“This could be our thing.”

“Our thing?”

Stiles rolled his head on Derek’s shoulder so he was now facing Derek instead of the beautiful sunset in front of him. “Yes, our thing. Like my parents used to go to this diner they first met at. They would go on a date there once a month to remind them of how it all started or something like that. This could be our thing. Watching the sunset on the cliff side.”

“My parents go camping in the mountains once a years.”

“That’s so sweet. You couldn’t pay me to go camping.”

Derek chuckled and placed a kiss on the top of Stiles’s head. “I wasn’t suggesting we go camping. I think this is a good thing for us to have. I like this.”

“I do, too.”

“Was it worth waking up at the ass crack of dawn for?”

“It was still dark outside when you woke me up. I woke up before the ass crack of dawn, but it was worth it. Totally and one hundred percent worth it.”

“It’s our thing.”

“Yes, yes it is.”

* * *

 

“Happy birthday!” Stiles planted a sloppy kiss onto his boyfriend’s lips and laughed happily after Derek pulled back with a disgusted look on his face. “My dad and Mama McCall also said to tell you happy birthday, but no kiss from them. Melissa did bake you your favorite cookies though! They’re in my backpack along with your present.”

“You already started in on the candy, didn’t you?”

“I may have had a few pieces. Sue me! It’s Halloween. Totally valid excuse for having candy for breakfast.”

“Candy you’re supposed to give out to the trick-or-treaters later.”

“No. I only took candy from my personal stash.”

“I’m dating a child.”

Stiles laughed brightly and plopped Lissie onto Derek’s head in retaliation. “You enjoy my childish spirit. It’s like a bright light in your life you didn’t realize you were missing until you got it.”

“Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“Rude. Laura! Tell your Sourwolf of a brother to lighten up. He’s harshing my mellow.”

“Such a strange little boy.” Laura rumpled Stiles’s hair playfully much to the younger teen’s dismay. “He’s always a stick in the mud on his birthday. It’s like he’s not a normal child. Sometimes I swear he’s adopted.”

“That would explain so much!”

“I hate you both.”

“No you don’t!”

“I wish I did.”

Stiles chuckled and slipped his backpack off so he could pull the cookies and a neatly wrapped gift out. “Here. This should make you feel better. I think you’re going to love it. That could just be overconfidence.”

“I’m sure I’ll love it.”

Derek inspected the bright red wrapping paper with interest before shaking the gift next to his ear in an attempt to figure out what it was. When he looked up at Stiles, he wasn’t surprised to see his boyfriend biting his bottom lip firmly between his teeth to keep from laughing. His attention turned back to the present in his hand trying to figure out the best place to start ripping the paper. He finally slipped his finger under one of the corners and slid down until the tap popped off and he was able to pull the bottom triangle off. A medium sized box was left in Derek’s hands after he had finished meticulously removing the wrapping paper from it.

“How am I supposed to-”

Stiles held out a pair of scissors for Derek to use to cut open the packing tape that was holding the box shut. In one fell swoop, Derek sliced the packing tape down the middle so the two side flaps popped right open for him. He handed the scissors back to Stiles and used his now free hand to open the box up all the way. Some butcher paper was the only thing keeping Derek from seeing the gift which he quickly removed to reveal a pair of stuffed animals.

“I know it’s kind of childish, but let me explain.”

“You don’t need to. I love them.”

“Really? I was searching everywhere for something to get you and nothing seemed good enough until I saw this person that made these and thought their work was super cute. Then I saw the person who made them did custom designs if you sent them a picture of what you wanted and I thought it would be cute if I had them do Lissie and Zeke. The girl thinks those two are adorable by the way. She made me send her more pictures of them after she read my message.”

“They look exactly like them.”

“I know!” Stiles shuffled awkwardly from foot to foot as if that would hold him back from saying what he obviously wanted to. “I also thought it might be nice to have them as a reminder for when they spend the night with me.”

“Thank you, Stiles.” Derek placed the box in his still open locker so he could pull Stiles in by his hips for a knee melting kiss. “They’re very thoughtful. I love them.”

* * *

 

Stiles had the flu. Correction, Stiles had the mother of all flu. The kind of flu that lands people in the hospital or more accurately the kind of flu that leaves a person’s body so defenceless they end up in the hospital with a case of pneumonia they couldn’t fight off because of the damn flu. Stiles let out a hacking cough that left his chest aching worse than it had been before which Stiles would have thought to be impossible. He sniffled miserably and wiped the phlegm and spit he had managed to get all over his chin with a shaking hand.

Lissie let out a miserable whine and licked at the hand the doctor or nurse or whoever had put his IV in while he was too passed out to care. Part of Stiles wanted to comfort Lissie, but his body was in too much pain to do anything more than what was absolutely necessary. He hadn’t even touched the laptop his dad had brought for him the night before so he wouldn’t have to be stuck watching the hospital’s terrible cable. Honestly, Stiles wasn’t even sure he was conscious enough to know whether the nurse had turned the TV on in his room or not.

A knock at Stiles’s door had him letting out a horrendous sounding “come in” that had Stiles cringing at awful sound. Melissa poked her head through the door with her sympathetic mother smile already in place. She pushed through the door and sat on the edge of Stiles’s bed not giving a care in the world that Stiles was probably ridiculously contagious. Her hand ran through Stiles’s slightly damp hair causing the boy to let out a little sigh at the wonderful feeling contact.

“How are you feeling, sweetie?”

“Like death.”

Melissa rolled her eyes at how dramatic Stiles was being. “Well it should comfort you to know you’re not dying.”

“Wonderful. When can I get out of here?”

“I know you hate it here.”

“Understatement of the century.”

“This isn’t something that can be fixed in a few days. You’ll need to do breathing treatments and the doctor is seriously considering draining you.”

“He already did that!” Stiles’s throat still burned at the memory of his doctor deciding it would be best to shove a tube down his throat while Stiles was sleeping. Not an enjoyable thing to wake up to.

“I know that, but your lungs have already filled up again a considerable amount.”

“This sucks.”

“I know it does, sweetie. It will all be over soon and I’ll be sure to be here the next time they do it.”

“Thanks.”

“Anything for my boy.” Melissa leaned forward to press a kiss to Stiles’s burning forehead. “Your fever still hasn’t broken. I’m going to go talk to your nurse. It should have by now.”

“Don’t go, please.”

“There’s someone else here to see you. I won’t be long.”

“Okay.”

Melissa kissed him on the forehead one more time before squeezing hand in comfort and heading out the door. The person Melissa had been talking about was waiting patiently on the other side of the door. The two had a short conversation that included a few hand gesture Stiles could barely see and definitely couldn’t tell what they were. The person walked through the door then shut it firmly behind them and crossed the room.

“Derek.”

“I brought someone who wants to see you.”

“Besides yourself?”

“Obviously.”

Stiles smiled at the wolf now standing up with his paws on Stiles’s bed to keep him up. “Hey there buddy. Happy to see me? Hope Derek’s been giving you enough attention.”

“He’s been miserable without you.”

“Is he the only one?”

“Definitely not.” Derek sat down in the same spot Melissa had been sitting in earlier and carefully took Stiles’s hand in his own. “School has been terrible. Finstock asks Scott and I everyday where his surrogate son is.”

“Seriously?”

“With that phrasing and everything. It’s sweet, yet terrifying at the same time.”

“Sounds like it. You don’t come bearing homework did you? I know Melissa and my dad have been keeping you and Scott away from me so you don’t get sick. I also heard they had to add your sisters to the list because they tried to sneak past them to see me.”

“I think Cora was just tagging along with Laura, but they did try to come see you. According to Laura, your mom chased her away with an old broom stick and said something that sounded suspiciously like an evil witch in a Disney movie.”

The laugh Stiles let out quickly turned into a cough that turned into a whole coughing fit Derek spent rubbing Stiles’s back in comfort. “Don’t make me laugh. It will be the death of me.”

“I promise not to make you laugh again.”

“You’re the best. Cuddle time?”

Derek smiled fondly at Stiles and moved him around on the bed until there was a big enough space for Derek to rest on. Stiles curled into Derek’s warm body with a sigh of relief and felt ready to fall asleep the moment his head was pillowed against Derek’s pec. He let his fingers play aimless with the hem of Derek’s t-shirt while the other got the two Soul Animals situated onto the tiny bed. The sound of Stiles’s favorite Young Justice episode playing had Stiles forcing his eyes open even though they felt abnormally heavy.

“You’re the best boyfriend ever. Has anyone ever told you that?”

“Yes, this amazing guy that needs to get some sleep.”

“Shouldn’t have put that on then. Want to watch.”

“You’ve seen it a million times. Just rest your eyes and listen to it.”

Stiles tried to huff, but it came out more like a watery cough. “You ask the impossible from me. You’ll be here when I wake up right? You’re not going to leave.”

“I’ll be here until Melissa kicks me out.”

“She wouldn’t do that. Knows I hate it here.”

“I know you do too, but you have to be here if you want to get better.”

“Still sucks.”

“Yes, it does.” Derek leaned his head down so it was buried in the soft, brown hair he enjoyed running his fingers through. “If you sleep through your visit here, it won’t be so bad. You’ll be out before you know it.”

“Don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

“You were you.”

“That’s cheesy, Sourwolf.”

“But true. You make me better. You and Lissie make me better.”

“Like you and Zeke ground us?”

“Exactly like that.”

“Supposed to be taking this slow. High school romance.”

“When have any of us ever done things normally? Let’s do things our way.”

Stiles smiled into the material of Derek’s shirt and tried to squeeze Derek’s fingers between his. “I like that. Our. Sounds right.”

“You, me, Lissie, and Zeke. That’s us.”

“Sounds perfect to me.”

“Perfect.” Derek wrapped his arm tighter around the now sleeping boy and ran his fingers over the wolf and fox resting peaceful on top of their owners. “Absolutely perfect.”


End file.
